Refined Sugar-Free Berry Cream Tart

Being a huge fan of The Great British Bake Off, I had heard of “crème pat.” But I only recently realized that crème pâtissière (a.k.a. pastry cream) is the delicious, pudding-like filling in eclairs and Boston Cream Pie. After doing some recipe research, I was excited to discover that I was easily going to be able to create a sugar-free and lactose-free pastry cream for this Refined Sugar-Free Berry Cream Tart.

The base of crème pâtissière is whole milk and tempered egg yolks, thickened with cornstarch. This recipe simply uses lactose-free whole milk, though I suspect that you could use any unsweetened non-dairy milk (let me know if you try it!). I was worried that replacing cane sugar with pure maple syrup would affect the texture of the pastry cream, but the result was a beautiful, silky smooth, stable yet pipeable custard.

Usually, I don’t pick up on a strong maple taste when I replace refined sugar with maple syrup in my recipes. There is definitely a more pronounced maple taste in this custard, but I certainly didn’t mind it (my husband said this tart reminded him of maple pancakes with fresh fruit!). If you don’t like the taste of maple syrup, you could use honey or agave in this recipe instead.

Make sure you read the instructions for the crème pâtissière thoroughly before you start baking. The process goes very quickly once you start, and you have to keep a close, constant eye on the custard when it’s on the stovetop. I also recommend having your fine mesh sieve and extra mixing bowl laid out before you start.

While your strained custard chills in the refrigerator, you can work on your pastry. I don’t mind a buttery and savory unsweetened tart shell for this recipe, and this tart uses the same pastry recipe as my Refined Sugar-Free Lemon Tartlets. But if you want a little bit of sweetness, you could add a few teaspoons of maple syrup or honey to the dough.

Once your blind baked tart shell has completely cooled and your crème pâtissière is chilled, it’s time to get creative with the decoration! In the photo for this Refined Sugar-Free Berry Cream Tart, I arranged blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries in an ombre design, but you can use whatever combination of berries you like in any pattern! The ombre effect was fun to eat because each type of berry pairs differently with the pastry cream — I personally think raspberries and strawberries taste best with the luscious vanilla custard!

Refined Sugar-Free Berry Cream Tart

Rich and indulgent, this refined sugar-free berry cream tart features a lactose-free crème pâtissière topped with the bright flavors of summer berries.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 8

Calories 300 kcal

Ingredients

  

For the crème pâtissière

• 2 cups lactose-free whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the pastry

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter (cubed)
• 1 large egg
• 2 TBSP lactose-free milk

For the decoration

• 2 cups mixed berries

Instructions

 

Make the crème pâtissière

• In a medium saucepan, start slowly warming the milk over medium heat until steaming, but not boiling
• In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks, maple syrup, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla extract, whisking until completely smooth.
• When the milk is steaming but not boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat and ladle half of the milk into a liquid measuring cup for ease of pouring.
• Temper the eggs by SLOWLY pouring half of the steaming milk into the egg mixture while constantly whisking.
• Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture thickens and starts to boil (large bubbles will form on the surface).
• When the mixture has started to boil, whisk for one additional minute, then immediately remove from the heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve.
• Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the crème pâtissière to prevent a skin from forming and place in the fridge for two hours or until completely cool.

Prep the pastry

• In a food processor, pulse together flour and salt.
• Add chilled cubed butter and pulse until the butter is broken up into pea-sized pieces or smaller.
• Add egg and milk and pulse approximately 25 times or until the dough starts to come together.
• Turn out the mixture onto the counter and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Bake the pastry

• Removed the chilled pastry from the refrigerator and flour your work surface.
• Roll the pastry out into an approximately 11-inch circle.
• Transfer the pastry to a 9-inch tart tin, pressing the pastry firmly into the corners and edges without stretching the dough.
• Trim excess pastry to a half-inch overhang, then fold the over hang back inside the tart tin, pressing firmly into the fluted edge.
• Prick the bottom of the pastry all over with a fork and add pie weights.
• Place pastry in the frezer for 15-20 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Transfer frozen tart shell directly into the preheated oven. Bake for 22 minutes with weights, then 15 minutes without or until the bottom is dry and golden brown.
• Cool completely before assembling.

Assemble the tart

• Remove chilled crème pâtissière from the refrigerator and whisk to smooth out the texture. (It's normal for it to go a bit rubbery in the fridge as it cools!)
• Pour whisked crème pâtissière into cool tart shell and smooth the surface with an offset spatula.
• Arrange mixed berries on top, and enjoy!

Keyword Berry Tart, Lactose-free, Maple Syrup, Sugar-free